Vending machine delivery apparatus

ABSTRACT

A vending machine delivery apparatus for dispensing containers of circular cross-section from a multiplicity of columns and including a removable tray comprising a pair of converging inclined planes or ramps, inclined at an angle of at least about 6*, including a trough at their confluence, a conveyor belt mounted in the trough and having one surface extending thereover and being driven to engage cans located in said trough, and transport them to the front end of the vending machine for discharge through a discharge port.

United States Patent 1191 Merkl May 14, 1974 [5 VENDING MACHINE DELIVERY2,889,074 6/1959 Reynolds 221 253 x APPARATUS 2,874,873 2/l959 Newell22l/203 [75] Inventor: Lloyd D. Merkl, Mayville, Wis. Primary Exam'."erStanley H Tonberg [73] Assignee: Mayville Metal Products (10., AssistantExaminer-Francis J. Bartuska Mayville, Wis.

22 Filed: Mar. 17, 1972 57 ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 235,636 A vendingmachine delivery apparatus for dispensing containers of circularcross-section from a multiplicity 52 u.s.c1. ..221/201,221/25 3 "l f T apair of converging inclined planes or ramps, inclined [51] Int.Cl..B65h5/00 l f t] t b t ht 58 Field of Search 221/174, 200, 203, 224, iange 0 a ms 8 mg l their confluence, a conveyor belt mounted 1n the221/225, 150 HC, 150 A, 253

trough and hav ng one surface extending thereover and being driven toengage cans located in said [56] References Clted trough, and transportthem to the front end of the UNITED STATES PATENTS vending machine fordischarge through a discharge 3,443,509 5/1969 Sandy 221/150 HCX o -L3,333,666 8/1967 Murray et al. 221/150 HC X 2,897,939 8/1959 Mayhew 22l/253 X 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures (L (ls 28 VATENTEBm 14 m4 3.810.561SHEEI 2 0P2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Theinstant invention relates to coin-operated vending machines for vendingcontainers of circular cross-section, such as soda cans or bottles, froma multiplicity of tiers.

2. The State of the Art Vending machines have been provided withnumerous devices for facilitation of the discharge of containers throughan exit port located in the front of the machine. One such mechanisminvolves the use of downwardly and forwardly inclined planes to use theforce of gravity to roll the containers of circular cross-section todischarge ports at the front of the machine, and could require twodischarge ports in some instances. However, the angle of the planesrequired in order to allow the containers to acquire sufficient momentumto properly discharge is substantial, on the order of 28 or more and thedischarging apparatus occupies a substantial portion of the vendingmachine volume, thereby decreasing its capacity. Also machines of theprior art type can produce jamming, when a container is not dischargedat the front of the machine.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a dischargingapparatus for discharging containers of circular cross-section in avending machine, and comprising a removable tray including a pair ofconvergent inclined planes connected by a trough at their confluence. Aconveyor belt has its upper surface located above the base of thetrough. The conveyor belt is driven by a suitable drive motor so thatits upper surface moves from the rear of the machine toward the frontend of the machine. Mounted on the conveyor belt are a plurality ofcontainer engaging means for the purpose of positively engaging anddislodging any container which may fall to the bottom of the dispensingdevice in a position where it would not otherwise be engaged by theconveyor belt for movement toward the front of the machine. The machineincludes a vibrator connected to one of the inclined planes forvibrating the inclined plane gently to assure proper feeding ofcontainers to the conveyor belt. The angle of inclination of eachinclined plane is in the range from about 6 to about 10, and ispreferably about 65. A portion of the trough on either side of theconveyor belt includes channels which allow the accumulation of anyliquid which may leak from the containers being dispensed, and becauseof its direct alignment with the door of the machine is easilyaccessable for cleaning of any syrups which may accumulate in themachine. The tray which includes the inclined planes and trough isremovable to further facilitate cleaning of any syrups therefrom. Theapparatus of the invention, in a typical instance, by having a dischargeapparatus which occupies substantially less of the interior volume ofthe vending machine that the prior art devices, allows a to 6 inchreduction in the distance from the bottom edge of the stacks of cans tobe discharged in a machine of given exterior dimensions. This permitsthe capacity of one common size of vending machine to be increased byabout six layers of cans, thereby allowing one hundred eight additionalcans of soda to be stored in a machine of the type illustrated in thedrawings; this increase in capacity is an important factor in theeconomics of vending machine operators, since it reduces the frequencywith which the machines have to be serviced to replace the exhausted orsubstantially depleted supply of soda or other merchandise or increasesthe available number of containers to be sold in a given period of time.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of thisinvention to provide a reliable delivery means for a vending machinewhich occupies a minimum volume within the machine and therefore permitsa maximum capacity for containers in a given size of machine, therebyreducing the frequency with which the vending machine has to berefilled.

It is another object of this invention to provide a vending machinedelivery apparatus, for delivering containers of circular cross-sectionthrough an access means in the front end of the machine, without anyprospect that containers will become stuck in the delivering means andwill not be dispensed.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a vending machinedelivery means which includes removable delivery ramps formed of asingle sheet of material and including an integral collection area forthe accumulation of any spillage from the containers for easy cleaningof the machine.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a vending machinedelivery mechanism which includes a conveyor belt and gripping meansmounted on the conveyor belt to insure that any can which reaches theconveyor belt in a non-delivery position will be properly positioned onthe conveyor belt for discharge from the front of the machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially schematic frontelevational view of a vending machine delivery apparatus of the instantinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Viewing FIG. I, a vending machine,generally designated by the numeral 10, includes a bottom wall 12, sidewalls 14 and 16, and a front inner wall 18 having a plastic swinginginner door 20 hingedly mounted therein. The machine would also containan outer front face and an outer door spaced from front inner wall 18(not shown) in a manner which is well-known in the art to permit accessto the dispensed container.

A plurality of vertical columns, each of which is generally designatedby numeral 22, contains a stack of containers to be dispensed, eachcontainer being designated by numeral 24. The containers illustrated arecylindrical containers, such as cans of soda, but other shapes ofcontainer, of circular cross-section, such as soda bottles, could alsobe dispensed from the machine, Furthermore, although the machine wouldprobably most likely be used for dispensing cans of soda, other itemscould also be dispensed in cylindrical containers, without departingfrom the scope of this invention.

Within the vending machine, respective left-hand and right-hand sidewalls 26 and 28 define the outer limits of the vending machine stacks.

The cans 24 in each stack 22 are mounted in three columns. Each columnis defined on its opposite sides by spacers 30 which are suitablymounted in the machine, in a well-known manner. Mounted at the front ofeach column 22, and extending beneath that column is a release mechanism32, of a type which is wellknown in the art, for the purpose ofreleasing a single can from one of the stacks, in response to theinsertion ofa coin into a coin receptacle in the vending machine. Themechanism 32, and their location and operation and the basic operatingmechanisms for the vending machine, are well-known in the art and formno part of the instant invention.

Spaced immediately below the bottom ends of the stacks 22 of cans is thedischarging apparatus, which includes a tray 38 comprising a pair ofconverging inclined planes or ramps 40 and 42. As best seen in FIG. 2,the front and rear edges of the respective inclined planes 40 and 42,which are designed by numeral 60, are turned up, so that any containerswhich are discharged onto the inclined planes are directed downwardlytoward the centrally located trough 44. The tray 38 is slidably mountedwithin the vending machine, so that it may be lifted and moved orremoved for easy cleaning of any syrup or other material whichaccumulates thereon. The inclined planes 40 and 42 are formed of asingle sheet of sheet material, preferably 16 gauge sheet metal, and arejoined by a trough section 44, which is best illustrated in FIG. 4.Trough section 44 has vertical outer walls 46 and 48, inwardly extendinglower walls 50 and 52, and a central upstanding portion comprising anupper horizontal surface 54 and side ledge surfaces56 and 58.

The angle of incline of the inclined planes 40 and 42 is the range fromabout 6 to about and is most preferably about 65. This angle isimportant, and facilitates reliable discharge of the individualcontainers while minimizing the inner volume of the vending machinewhich is occupied by the discharging apparatus. It has been found thatramp incline angles of less than about 6 will not permit optimumdispensing of containers. The optimum angle for dispensing is about6.5", but it will be appreciated that convenional techniques for formingtray 38 will result in some deviations from the optimum angle. Angles ofincline in excess of about 65 are possible, and would produce somewhatfaster dispensing of cans 24, but the more the angle of incline isincreased the more the container capacity of the machine is decreased.Accordingly, an incline angle in excess of about 10 would decrease thecapacity of the machine without producing any substantial attendantbenefits.

The uppermost edge of each of the inclined planes 40 and 42 is locatedapproximately 2% inches below the bottom of the respective adjacentstacks 22 of cans. Preferably, the trough section 44, has a depth fromthe lower edge of each of the inclined planes of approximately one inch,and the bottom faces 50 and 52 of the trough 44 are conveniently locatedapproximately 2% inches above the bottom face 12 of vending machineMounted below the tray 38 is a sheet-metal enclosure, generallydesignated by numeral 62, and best seen in F IG. 4. The purpose of thesheet metal enclosure 6 is to reinforce the sheet metal inclined planes40 and 42 against buckling and to support some of the electricalapparatus of the vending machine and the conveyor belt mechanism, whichare described more fully hereinafter. The sheet-metal enclosure 62comprises vertical side walls. both of which are designated by thenumeral 64, and a bottom wall 66. Fastened to the bottom wall 66 ofenclosure 62, as by bolts 68, are the horizontal flanges 70 of the twovertically extending end plates 72,

which enclose the opposite sides of the conveyor belt mechanism andmount the conveyor belt shafts.

The conveyor mechanism, best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, is seen to comprisean endless conveyor belt 76 formed of frictional material, such asrubber, and having a stepped inner surface which travels over a pair ofrotating mounted support members 78 and 80 which are provided withstepped outer surfaces which mate with the inner surface of conveyorbelt. Support member 78 is rigidly mounted on shaft 82, which isrotatably mounted in suitable journals (not shown) located in the rearends of each of the end plates 72 of the conveyor belt mechanism in amanner which is well-known.

Support member 80 is rigidly mounted on shaft 84, and shaft 84 isjournaled in suitable journals (not shown), and of a type which iswell-known, located in the forward ends of each of the end plates 72.Shaft 84 is connected to gear motor 86 through a suitable flexible shaftcoupling 88. Also mounted on shaft 84 is a cam mounting 90 which has anintegral arm 96 which engages a switch 92 once upon every revolution ofshaft 84, by means of contact member 96, for the purpose of engaging theswitch which is connected to and initiates the operation of the vibratormechanism 94.

Mounted on an end face 64 of enclosure 62 is a vibrator unit 94, whichis suitably connected to the vibrator switch 92, in a manner well-knownin the art, and which includes a solenoid member which is connected, asby welding or mechanical fastening, to the under surface of plane orramp 42, and the operation of which will be more described hereinafter.

Mounted on the conveyor belt 76 are two trippers, generally designatedby numeral 100, and best illustrated in FIG. 4. Each of the trippers 100comprises a horizontal sheetmetal section 102 having a pair of grippingfingers 104 formed integrally therewith and engaging opposing edges ofthe conveyor belt 76, as best seen in FIG. 4. The arm 102 terminates intwo integral sheetmetal receptacles or seats 106 and 108 which seat andsupport rectangular foam blocks 110 and 112. The foam blocks preferablyadhesively secured to the seats, and are formed of any suitableresilient frictional material, preferably a polymeric foam material suchas polyurethane foam. The gripping members 104 of the tripper may alsobe adhesively fastened to the conveyor belt 76, to insure that they willnot become dislodged.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the front 18 of the inner face of vendingmachine 10, has an inner door 20, hingedly mounted thereon, and adispensing opening formed therein and extending inwardly. Molded inplastic door 20 is a small bar magnet (not shown). Mounted on thedelivery port cover (not shown) which extends between inner door 20 andthe outer door of the vending machine, in a manner which is well-knownin'the art, is a magnetic switch (not shown) which is closed by the barmagnet when door 20 is opened.

The operation of the vending machine delivery apparatus is as follows:

A person wishing to purchase a unit, such as a can of soda, being vendedfrom the machine would insert a coin in a suitable coin receptaclelocated in a portion of the machine not shown but of a location,mechanism and operation which is well-known in the art. Upon the coinbeing inserted in the receptacle, the vending machine operatingmechanism activates one of the con tainer dispensing units 32, in amanner which is wellknown in the art, to drop a single container 24 fromone of the stacks 22 down onto one of the inclined planes, being eitherinclined plane 40 or inclined plane 42, depending upon the location ofthe stack from which the container is dispensed.

Upon the dropping of the container from the respective stack 22, thegear motor 86 is actuated, so that drive shaft 84, which drives theconveyor belt 76, commences rotation and the conveyor belt begins tomove so that the upper surface of the conveyor belt moves toward thefront of the vending machine. Because of the inward and downward inclineof the respective planes 40 and 42, a can 24 dropped from any of thestacks 22 will fall on one of those planes and will tend to rolldownwardly toward the trough 44.

In order to avoid any possibility that a container will not roll downeither of the incline planes to the trough 44, a vibrator 94 isincorporated into the machine, and includes a solenoid mechanism (notshown) fastened to ramp 42 for the purpose of engaging the inclinedplane 42 and vibrating the same to dislodge any stuck can. Since theinclined planes 40 and 42 are part of a single unit, the vibrating oframp 42 will vibrate the entire tray 38, including plane 40, so that anycontainer which might be stuck on plane 40 will also be dislodged by theaction of vibrator 94. The vibrator 94 is actuated once during eachrevolution of the drive shaft-84 by switch actuating member 96 engagingthe switch contact 92, which is mounted on the inclined plane 42, toinitiate the operation of the vibrator 94.

Typically, once a can has rolled to the trough 44, one of three thingscan occur. Most desirably, the container 24 can roll directly onto theconveyor belt 76, with its longitudinal axis aligned with the directionof movement of the conveyor belt, so that the conveyor belt transportsthe container directly to the front of the machine for removal.Sometimes, however, a container may reach the trough 44 in one of thetwo positions shown in FIG. 2, where the longitudinal axis of thecontainer is transverse to the direction of movement of conveyor belt oris skewed with respect to the direction of movement of the conveyorbelt. In either of those two instances, a tripper 100 will engage anedge of the container 24 through one of its engaging members 110 or 112,and this will push the leading edge of the container around and alignits longitudinal axis with the direction of movement of the conveyorbelt so that it will roll down to the conveyor belt in proper position.As illustrated in the drawings, two trippers 100 are mounted on theconveyor belt, although one tripper or more than two trippers can alsobe used, it having been found that two trippers is a convenient numberfor effectively achieving the desired result of dislodging any stuckcontainers without undue expense.

Once the can is located, in properly aligned position, on the conveyorbelt, the conveyor belt transports the container 24 to the front of thevending machine. The

leading end of the container 24 will engage inner door 20, and pushesout door 20 under the driving force of conveyor belt 76. When door 20 ismoved by container 24 from the substantially vertical closed position toa position similar to that shown in phantom in FIG. 3, a bar magnetmounted within door 20 will actuate a magnetic switch of a conventionaltype located on the delivery port cover (not shown) thereby todiscontinue the operation of the gear motor 86, and discontinuingmovement of the conveyor belt. Accordingly, when the inner door 20 isopened, the conveyor belt drive ceases operation, and the can is locatedin a position, ready to be removed, in the access opening in the frontof the vending machine.

It will be apparent that various modifications of the vending machineapparatus disclosed can be made without departing from the spirit andscope of this invention. For example, the tripper illustrated in thedrawing is the desired device for dislodging any container stuck in themanner shown in FIG. 2. However, it is possible to provide the conveyorbelt 76 with a knurled surface for the purpose of dislodging stuckcontainers or to utilize other similar mechanisms. Also, in lieu of theconveyor belt shown in the drawings, other mechanical means for movingthe cans from the confluence of the inclined planes could be utilized,such as, for example, a plurality of rollers, driven by a single source,and containing, on their surfaces, some frictional material, such as aknurled rubber sheet, adhered thereto to drivingly engage the cans to bedispensed.

What is claimed is:

l. A vending machine apparatus having a front and back, comprising:

a. Means for storing and vertically selectively releasing from amultiplicity of columns containers of circular cross-section;

b. Means mounted in said machine for releasing one container at a timefrom one of said columns;

c. Inclined plane means mounted in said machine and comprising a pair ofconverging inclined ramps spaced from each other and formed of a singleintegral unit of sheet material and extending substantially from thefront to the back of said machine and substantially coextensive with andlocated beneath and proximate to said columns of containers and havingan angle of incline with respect to the horizontal of less than about10;

d. Mechanically engaged conveyor belt drive means mounted in saidmachine and having a surface located between and below said ramps totransport containers in a horizontal direction transverse to thedirection of incline of said ramps;

e. Said unit including an integral dependent section having two discretechannels at the convergence of said ramps, on either side of said drivemeans;

f. Mounting means removably mounting said unit in said machine; and

g. Upstanding frictional gripping means mounted on said conveyor belt toalign said containers in substantial axial alignment with said drivemeans.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including vibrator means connectedto one of said inclined ramps for transmitting vibration thereto todislodge any containers which may be blocked thereon.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said gripping meanscomprises at least one pair of foam slightly greater than the diameterof a container to be dispensed, magnetic switch means mounted in saiddoor and actuated in response to the position of said door, and meansinterconnecting said magnetic switch means and said drive means todiscontinue operation of said drive means when said door is partiallyopened.

1. A vending machine apparatus having a front and back, comprising: a.Means for storing and vertically selectively releasing from amultiplicity of columns containers of circular cross-section; b. Meansmounted in said machine for releasing one container at a time from oneof said columns; c. Inclined plane means mounted in said machine andcomprising A pair of converging inclined ramps spaced from each otherand formed of a single integral unit of sheet material and extendingsubstantially from the front to the back of said machine andsubstantially coextensive with and located beneath and proximate to saidcolumns of containers and having an angle of incline with respect to thehorizontal of less than about 10*; d. Mechanically engaged conveyor beltdrive means mounted in said machine and having a surface located betweenand below said ramps to transport containers in a horizontal directiontransverse to the direction of incline of said ramps; e. Said unitincluding an integral dependent section having two discrete channels atthe convergence of said ramps, on either side of said drive means; f.Mounting means removably mounting said unit in said machine; and g.Upstanding frictional gripping means mounted on said conveyor belt toalign said containers in substantial axial alignment with said drivemeans.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including vibrator meansconnected to one of said inclined ramps for transmitting vibrationthereto to dislodge any containers which may be blocked thereon. 3.Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said gripping means comprisesat least one pair of foam blocks extending on either side of saidconveyor belt and means mounting said blocks thereto.
 4. Apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein the angle of incline of each of said rampsis about 6.5* .
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including a door,means mounting said door on said machine in the path of said drivemeans, said door having dimensions only slightly greater than thediameter of a container to be dispensed, magnetic switch means mountedin said door and actuated in response to the position of said door, andmeans interconnecting said magnetic switch means and said drive means todiscontinue operation of said drive means when said door is partiallyopened.